Consumer Right

5/1/2021
Consumer Awareness

Name: - Piyush Kala

Class: - 10th Mahogany
Roll: - 21
Admission: - 6483
 2

Certificate
This is to certify that the Project work entitled
“Unaware Consumers and Consumer Rights” is a
Bonafede record of independent project work
done by _________________ (Student name)
under my supervision and submitted to
____________________________ (School
name).

________________________
Signature of the Supervisor
 3

Acknowledgement
I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to my
teacher___________ as well as our Principal______________ who
gave me this golden opportunity to do such a good project on the
topic, “Unaware Consumers and Consumer Rights”.
I am thankful to everyone who supported me for the completion of
this project and gave me their aspiring guidance, friendly advice and
invaluable feedback during the project. I am sincerely grateful to all
of my friends, co-partners, family and guide who shared their truthful
and illuminating views on a number of issues related to the project by
devoting their precious time.
Thank you,
________________________

Contents
1. Introduction
2. Objective
3. Who is a Consumer?
4. Consumer Protection and Common Problems faced by a
Consumer in Market Place
5. Consumer Movement in India
6. Consumer Protection Act, 1986
6.1 Three-tier System
6.2 Consumer Rights
7. Learning to become a well-informed Consumer
7.1 Consumer Responsibilities
7.2 Quality Standard Marks
8. Conclusion

1. Introduction: The right to seek redressal against unfair

trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous
exploitation of consumers’ is referred to as the right to
redressal according to the Consumer Protection Act 1986.
The government of India has been bit more successful with
regard to this right. The Consumer courts like District
Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums at district level, State
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions have been
incorporated with the help of the consumer protection act. These
consumer grievance redressal agencies have fiduciary as well as
geographical jurisdictions which address consumer cases
between businesses and consumers. About 20 lakhs Consumer
cases are heard in the district consumer forum, and around one
crore can be heard in the state consumer court while more than
one crore cases are heard at national consumer court. It has
been found that if one becomes guardian of consumer protection
or consumer rights in the country these courts today are found
to be ineffective because of bureaucratic sabotages, clogged
cases, callousness of government and decadent infrastructure.
Only some of the district forums have appointed officials for
time being and majority of them are non-functional because of
funding and infrastructure constraints. There are around 20-30
million open cases in India which remain unsolved and would
take around 320 years to wind up. Having such type of
compromised legal system, the consumer cases form just civil
litigations and are carried forward to the bottom of the priority
list. It is estimated that India is 10 years away in effectively
ensuring the right to redressal to every consumer of India.

2. Objective: Consumer rights legislation aims at protecting

consumers: a consumer is considered to be a weaker party
compared to a trader, and the legislation aims at making this
set-up more balanced.
The most important Finnish law aiming to protect consumers is
the Finnish Consumer Protection Act. The Finnish Consumer
Protection Act is applicable when individuals purchase goods or
services, or other merchandise or benefits, from a trader for
their own personal use. On the contrary, the Finnish Consumer
Protection Act is not applied, if the goods or services are
purchased from another private person, or when one company
trades with another company (the so-called business-to-business
or B2B trade).
The provisions regarding sale of consumer goods are mostly
mandatory in consumers’ favour. This means that contract terms
derogating from the provisions of the law to the detriment of the
consumer are considered void. However, it is possible to apply
contract terms, which provide better rights for the consumer
than those provided by the law.

3. Who is a Consumer?
“Consumers, by definition, include us all," President   John F.
Kennedy  offered his definition to the  United States Congress  on
March 15, 1962. This speech became the basis for the creation
of World Consumer Rights Day, now celebrated on March 15. In
his speech, JFK outlined the integral responsibility to
consumers from their respective governments to help exercise
consumers' rights, including:[1]
The right to safety: To be protected against the marketing of
goods which are hazardous to health or life.
The right to be informed: To be protected against fraudulent,
deceitful, or grossly misleading information, advertising,
labelling, or other practices, and to be given the facts he needs
to make an informed choice.
The right to choose: To be assured, wherever possible, access to
a variety of products and services at competitive prices; and in
those industries in which competition is not workable and
Government regulation is substituted, an assurance of
satisfactory quality and service at fair prices.
The right to be heard: To be assured that consumer interests
will receive full and sympathetic consideration in the
formulation of Government policy, and fair and expeditious
treatment in its administrative tribunals.

4. Consumer Protection and Common Problems

faced by a Consumer in Market Place
Consumer protection refers to the measures adopted to
safeguard the interest and rights of consumers and to help them
in getting their grievances redressed. Consumer protection
means protecting the consumers from unscrupulous, exploitative
and unfair trade practices of a seller or a producer for
maximising their profits.
The importance of consumer protection from consumer’s point of
view can be understood from the following points:
Consumer’s Ignorance: In the light of widespread
ignorance of consumers about their rights and reliefs available
to them, it becomes necessary to make them aware about their
rights and redressal available.
Unorganised Consumers: Generally, in India, though we
have NGOs and Consumer organisations, consumers are not
organised. Thus, to protect and promote their interest, adequate
consumer protection is required.
Widespread Exploitation of the Consumers: Unaware,
ignorant consumers might be exploited by marketer and thus,
consumer protection provides safeguard to the consumers from
such exploitation.
Consumers face problems in market place due to some
common malpractices by shopkeepers which are given
below:
Sale of adulterated goods i.e., selling goods by adding
something inferior to the product being sold
Sale of spurious goods i.e., selling something of little value
instead of the real product
Sale of sub-standard goods i.e., sale of goods which do not
confirm to prescribed quality standards
Misleading advertisements i.e., false claims made in
advertisements by marketer
5
Overcharging of price i.e., selling product at price which
is higher than MRP
Fake scarcity to raise the price and black marketing by
hoarding of products
Sale of defective goods

5. Consumer Movement in India

It was thought that passage of the Consumer Protection Act in
India in 1986 would encourage consumers to stand up for
their rights and lead to an overwhelming number of disputes
in consumer courts. Although a consumer movement has yet to
get going in India, existence of the act has stimulated the
creation of many consumer organizations across the country.
The number has such organizations has more the doubled in
the last few years so that there are now 600-800
organizations in the voluntary sector. The movement has not
blossomed because not all of the organizations are active
enough to make an impact, there has hardly been any unified
 action which would demonstrate their strength, and there has
been no active consumer participation in the movements.
Consumers claim that the lack of consumer education makes
them passive and apathetic, and blame consumer
organizations. The majority of consumers in the country are
even unaware of the existence of consumer courts to which
they make take their grievances. Consumer rights
organizations, however, counter that they lack sufficient
funds and blame the government for their inaction. The
author acknowledges criticism that the Indian consumer
movement is elitist and considers the need to focus upon rural
consumers, the significant contributions that organizations
have made in laying the foundations for change, the need for
consumer education, the need for specialists, the particular
need for consumer protection with regard to health-related
products, and support by voluntary health groups .
Some of the main reasons for Consumer Movement
were:
Lack of legal system to protect the consumers from exploitation
in the marketplace
Rampant food shortages
Black marketing
Hoarding
Adulteration of food and edible oil

Till the 1970s, objectives, set at the time of origin, were not
achieved as consumer organisations largely engaged in
writing articles and holding exhibitions. Then, they formed
consumer groups to look into the malpractices in ration shops
and overcrowding in the road passenger transport.
Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were largely engaged in
writing articles and holding exhibitions. They formed
 consumer groups to look into the malpractices in ration shops
and overcrowding in the road passenger transport.
More recently, India witnessed an upsurge in the number of
consumer groups.
6. Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was passed in year 1986 and
was enforced from July 1st 1987 with the motive to protect
the interest of consumers from being exploited by shopkeepers
or markets to maximize profits which ultimately harm the
well-being of the consumer and society.
This Act teaches the consumers to make right choices by
educating them about their rights and responsibilities of
being a consumer and make them aware that how to seek
redressal if they face any kind of exploitation.
This Consumer Protections Act, 1986:
applies to all goods, services and unfair trade practices unless
specifically exempted by the Central Government
covers all sectors-private, public or co-operative
provides for establishment of consumer protection councils at
the central, state and district levels, i.e., three tier machinery
system
Central Consumer Protection Council State Councils District
Council District Forum State Commission National Consumer
Disputes Redressal Commission Advisory Bodies Adjudicatory
Bodies Organizational Setup under CPA.
6.1 Three-tier System
District Forum

A complaint can be made to the appropriate District Forum

when the value of goods or services in question along with the
compensation claimed does not exceed ` 20 lakh.
The appeal against the orders of the District Forum can also be
filed before the State Commission.

State Commission
A complaint can be made to the appropriate State Commission
when the value of goods or services in question along with the
compensation claimed exceeds ` 20 lakh but does not exceed `
1 crore.
The appeal against the orders of the State Commission can also
be filed before the National Commission.

National Commission
A complaint can be made to the appropriate National
Commission when the value of goods or services in question
along with the compensation claimed exceeds ` 1 crore.
An order passed by the National Commission in a matter of its
original jurisdiction is appealable before the Supreme Court.

RIGHT TO SAFETY
According to the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the consumer
right is referred to as ‘right to be protected against
marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life
and property’. It is applicable to specific areas like
healthcare, pharmaceuticals and food processing, this right is
spread across the domain having a serious effect on the
health of the consumersortheir well-being viz. Automobiles,
Housing, Domestic Appliances, Travel etc. When there is
violation of the right then there occur medical malpractice
lawsuits in the country. It is estimated every year that
thousands or millions of citizens of India are killed or
seriously injured by immoral practices by doctors, hospitals,
pharmacies and the automobile industry. Still the government
 of India, known for its callousness, does not succeed in
acknowledging this fact or making a feeble effort for
maintaining statistics of the mishaps. The Government of
India needs to have world class product testing facilities to
test drugs, food, cars or any other consumable product that
can prove to be a menace to life. It does not happen
coincidently that Tata Nano is sold in India for half of what it
costs in a country which is industrially developed, this is a
classic case of requirement of a cheap product that outweighs
the need for safety of family and self. The developed countries
like the United States have stalwart agencies which oversee
the protection of consumer products, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for food and drugs, the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for
automobiles and the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) for various other consumer products etc. This right
needs each product which can potentially be a danger to our
lives to be marketed after adequate and complete verification
as well as validation. India is 50 years away, for empowering
this right adequately and completely.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION
The right to information is defined as ‘the right to be informed
about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and
price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect
the consumer against unfair trade practices’ in the Consumer
Protection Act of 1986. In the market place of India,
consumers get information by two ways namely advertising
and word of mouth however these sources are considered to
be unreliable but still this word of mouth is quite common
here. Because of this, the Indian consumers hardly have
precise and complete information for assessing the true value,
 safety, suitability, reliability of any product. Usually, the
hidden costs can be found, lack of suitability, quality
problems and safety hazards only after the purchase of the
product. There is another right claimed by Indian government
on paper, this right must ideally make sure that all
consumable products have been labelled in a standard manner
containing the cost, quantity, the ingredients and instructions
given to use the product safely. It is unfortunate that even the
medicines in the country do not follow a standardized
labelling convention. There should be establishment of unit
price publishing standards for consumer market where costs
are revealed in standard units like per kg or per litre. The
consumers, ought to be informed in an exact yet accurate
manner for the cost involved during time of availing a loan.
For providing benefit to the society through this right,
advertisers must be held against the andards of products in
the advertisements. The pharmaceuticals require to disclose
potential side effects related to their drugs and manufacturers
ought to be required to publish reports from independent
product testing laboratories for the purpose of comparing the
quality of their products from competitive products.

There is a website: Consumerdaddy.com, for the purpose of

empowering the consumers with right to information. Without
help of these types of websites it is difficult to spread
awareness among the consumers of India. The right to
information gives the power to the consumers to have an easy
access to information which is necessary for the consumer.

RIGHT TO CHOOSE
The definition of Right to Choose as per the Consumer
Protection Act 1986 is ‘the right to be assured, wherever
 possible, to have access to a variety of goods and services at
competitive prices. For regulating the market place, there is
just one factor required and that is competition. The existence
of cartels, oligopolies and monopolies prove to be
counterproductive to consumerism. The natural resources,
liquor industry, telecommunications, airlines etc all are being
controlled by a mafia to some or the other extent. Since` the
Indian consumers come from a socialistic background, the
tolerating of monopolistic market is found in their blood. It is
seldom seen that people want to switch the power company, in
the times when they have a blackout at home. It is interesting
to know that even micro markets like fish vendors in some
cities are known to collude and discourage the consumers’
bargaining power. No matter what size or form, or span, but
collusion of various companies which sell a similar kind of
product is unethical or say less legal. It can be estimated that
India has to stride for about 20 more years for empowering
its citizens fully in this regard.

RIGHT TO BE HEARD
As stated in the Consumer Protection Act 1986, ‘the right to be
heard and to be assured that consumer’s interests will receive
due consideration at appropriate forums’ is the definition of
the right to be heard. This right helps to empower the
consumers of India for putting forward their complaints and
concerns fearlessly and raising their voice against products
or even companies and ensure that their issues are taken into
consideration as well as handled expeditiously. However, till
date the Indian Government has not formed even one outlet
for hearing the consumers or their issues to be sorted out.
There are a number of websites striving to do this. The major
objective of Consumer is to ensure that their voices are heard
 by the corporate world. There is a website,
Consumerdaddy.com, where consumers can upload their
criticisms as well as file complaints. Every criticism filed
gradually lessens the overall score of the product which is
being criticized therefore each complaint is independently
checked by an investigator who belonged to
Consumerdaddy.com website. This website provides the
consumers the benefit of doubt always, so their voice is
considered over that of the company. It is believed at
consumerdaddy.com, that consumer is always right, and that
he is the king. In case a consumer makes an allegation
regarding the product, the onus goes to the dealer, or
supplying company or manufacturer to disprove that
allegation is not true. To be precise, the consumer is heard,
and the load of proof goes to the company. Various attempts
are made by the government for empowering the citizens with
this right, and it is believed that about 10-15 years more are
required for the accomplishment of this goal.

RIGHT TO REDRESSAL
The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or
restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of
consumers’ is referred to as the right to redressal according
to the Consumer Protection Act 1986.

The government of India has been bit more successful with

regard to this right. The Consumer courts like District
Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums at district level, State
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions have been
incorporated with the help of the consumer protection act.
These consumer grievance redressal agencies have fiduciary
 as well as geographical jurisdictions which address consumer
cases between businesses and consumers. About 20 lakhs
Consumer cases are heard in the district consumer forum, and
around one crore can be heard in the state consumer court
while more than one crore cases are heard at national
consumer court. It has been found that if one becomes
guardian of consumer protection or consumer rights in the
country these courts today are found to be ineffective because
of bureaucratic sabotages, clogged cases, callousness of
government and decadent infrastructure. Only some of the
district forums have appointed officials for time being and
majority of them are non-functional because of funding and
infrastructure constraints. There are around 20-30 million
open cases in India which remain unsolved and would take
around 320 years to wind up. Having such type of
compromised legal system, the consumer cases form just civil
litigations and are carried forward to the bottom of the
priority list. It is estimated that India is 10 years away in
effectively ensuring the right to redressal to every consumer
of India.

RIGHT TO CONSUMER EDUCATION

The right of every Indian citizen to have education on matters
regarding consumer protection as well as about her/his right
is regarded as the last right provided by the Consumer
Protection Act 1986. The right makes sure that the consumers
in the country have informational programs and materials
which are easily accessible and would enable them to make
purchasing decisions which are better than before. Consumer
education might refer to formal education through college
and school curriculums as well as consumer awareness
campaigns being run by non-governmental and governmental
 agencies both. Consumer NGOs, having little endorsement
from the government of India, basically undertake the task of
ensuring the consumer right throughout the country. India is
found to be 20 years away from giving this right that gives
power to the common consumer. Consumer Rights Right to be
heard Right to safety Right to choose Right to information
Right to consumer education Right to seek redressal
7. Learning to become a well-informed
Consumer
7.1 Consumer Responsibilities
A person must his/her responsibilities to become a well-
informed consumer. A person, as a consumer, should make
every effort to educate himself/herself about his/her rights.
Responsibilities that a consumer should discharge while
purchasing, using and consuming goods and services:
Be aware about various goods and services available in the
market so that an intelligent and wise choice can be made.
Buy only standardised goods as they provide quality assurance.
Thus, look for ISI mark on electrical goods, FPO/FSSAI mark
on food products, Hallmark on jewelry etc.
8
Learn about the risks associated with products and services,
follow manufacturer’s instructions and use the products
safely.
Read labels carefully so as to have information about prices, net
weight, manufacturing and expiry dates, etc.
Assert yourself to ensure that you get a fair deal.
Be honest in your dealings. Choose only from legal source and
discourage unscrupulous practices like black-marketing,
hoarding etc.
Ask for a cash memo on purchase of goods or services. This
would serve as a proof of the purchase made.
File a complaint in an appropriate consumer forum in case of a
shortcoming in the quality of goods purchased or services
availed. Do not fail to take an action even when the amount
involved is small.
Form consumer societies which would play an active part in
educating consumers and safeguard ing their interests.
Respect the environment. Avoid waste, littering and contributing
to pollution.

7.2 Quality Standard Marks

A quality mark gives consumer a visual and easily identifiable
quality assessment tool, originating from a reliable source.
Government of India has introduced some quality standard
mark for almost all the products. A consumer should check
for these marks before buying any commodity or product from
market place.
Hallmark: It is a certification scheme issued by Bureau of
Indian Standards to judge the purity of gold and silver
jewellery. It is applicable for gold since April, 2000 and for
silver since 2005.
WHAT JEWELLERY HALLMARKING DENOTES The Bureau of
India Standards (BIS) logo Purity of gold Assay Centre
Jeweller's identification mark Year of hall-marking 916 J
AGMARK: It is a certification scheme issued by Directorate of
Marketing and Inspection of the Government of India for
agricultural products. It is applicable since 1937 and was
amended in 1986. Agricultural products having this mark,
ensures that given products conform to a set of standards.
ISI Mark: ISI Mark is a certification mark for industrial
products in India issued by bureau of Indian Standards. It is
applicable since 1955. It is both mandatory or voluntary. Thus,
if a person wants to purchase an electronic item/industrial
items from the market place, he/she should make sure that the
product has ISI mark.9
FPO Mark: FPO mark is a mandatory certification mark for all
the “processed fruit products” in India issued by Ministry of
Food Processing. It is applicable since 1955. This mark proves
that product is not harmful from any aspect for the human
health and life and produced or manufactured under a clean
and safe environment.
FPO
Eco mark: Eco mark is a certification scheme issue by Bureau
of Indian Standards for the eco-friendly products. It is
applicable since 1991. Product having this mark conforms the
set of standards and proves that the product has least impact
on eco system.
Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Marks: It has been made
mandatory by the Indian Government for packaged food
products sold in India to have a green symbol for vegetarian
products and red/brown symbol for non-vegetarian products in
order to distinguish between them. It is applicable since 2011.
Green Brown/Red

FSSAI: FSSAI stands for Food Safety and Standard Authority of

Indian. It is a certification mark for food items such as dairy
products, fats, oil, fruits and vegetables, cereal products, meet
products, fish and fish products, sweets and confectionery,
beverages, etc. which proves that product is hygienic and meets
the set of standards approved by Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI).
8. Conclusion: It can be concluded that both Government and
consumers should make efforts col lectively to create awareness about
the rights and responsibilities of the consumers and to reduce
exploitation of consumers.
India has been observing 24 December as the National Consumers’
Day as on this date, Indian Government enacted Consumer Protection
Act, 1986. There are today, about 20-25 well organised and
recognized consumer groups in today out of 700 hundred. In India,
after consumer movement, consumer awareness was spreading very
slowly, but after the enactment of Consumer Protection Act, 1986, it
took a little speed, though slowly in our country.
For the speedy process of the consumer movement, we require a
voluntary effort and active participation of the people.
The government come in existence under 1986. It gives   six basic
rights  to consumer.
The main purpose is to make sure that   consumer  get product and
service worth their money.
Consumer have the authority to be protect against   marketing price fix
goods and service  which are harmful for their life and property.
Right to give  information  about the quantity, quality, purity, potency,
and standard of goods and service is come under the   consumer right.
Buying product on  reasonable price  is also duty of consumer.

The Consumer Protection Act is complicated, covers multiple

jurisdictions, and can change constantly. Despite all of this, by
following the advice described in this Research Guide, a lawyer or
new attorney can understand the area. The government came into
existence in 1986. It gives the user six fundamental rights.
The primary goal is to ensure that consumers get their cash worth of
goods / service.
Consumers are allowed to protect products and services that are
hazardous to their lives and property from marketing cost fixes.
The right to obtain information on the quantity, consistency, purity,
strength, and quality of products and services is the rights of the
customer.
It is also the consumer’s responsibility to purchase goods at fair
prices.
Bibliography: - Wikipedia